New programme to boost S'pore's blockchain ecosystem

A $12 million programme was launched yesterday to boost Singapore's blockchain ecosystem and support the development, commercialisation and adoption of blockchain technology for real-world uses.

The Singapore Blockchain Innovation Programme will engage close to 75 companies, including multinational corporations, large enterprises and info-communications technology companies, to devise 17 blockchain-related projects within the next three years in sectors such as trade and logistics.

The programme seeks to translate research into real-world needs, enable the adoption of blockchain in environments with high transaction rates, and growing the blockchain tech talent pool.

It is a joint effort by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), and is funded by the NRF.

ESG chairman Peter Ong said: "Covid-19 emphasised the need for trusted and reliable business systems in the new digital world."

Blockchain technology helps to "embed trust in applications" spanning logistics and supply chains, trade financing, and digital identities and credentials, he noted.

Mr Lew Chuen Hong, chief executive of IMDA, said the programme aims to encourage blockchain adoption in more industries beyond finance, and includes scaling up industry manpower and know-how.

This comes as a report released yesterday noted that Singapore is a key hub for blockchain research and commercialisation.

The country has produced the highest number of blockchain-related research publications in South-east Asia, according to the Singapore Blockchain Ecosystem Report 2020.

The report, released at the Singapore FinTech Festival and Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, showed the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the application of blockchain technology, which is being used to verify health credentials.

The report was co-presented by blockchain industry partners OpenNodes, Temasek, IBM, PwC Singapore, EY and SGTech, and supported by IMDA and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Singapore has produced 162 blockchain-related publications over the last 15 years, and this number is about 2.25 per cent of all research publications and 15th in the world.

ESG, IMDA and NRF also said yesterday that small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups have submitted more than 300 proposals across 16 National Innovation Challenges problem statements since July this year, demonstrating their strong interest in solving these issues and enabling digital transformation.

The National Innovation Challenges were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in May and aim to accelerate innovation efforts and help enterprises develop solutions to overcome challenges in the post-Covid-19 world. Some $40 million has been set aside for the initiative.

Several projects are on track for industry adoption next year, and four prototyping projects from the first batch of challenges launched in July are being tested.